Vincent Rice

We have commented before at Gizmag at how the luxury watch business can seem to the uninitiated to be an ever-spiraling vortex of pointlessness. Take the latest creation from TAG Heuer. A mechanical watch/chronograph that can time events to 1/2000th of a second. But why? Human reaction time makes it useless and crystal/electronic timers can provide even greater accuracy. For the “haute horologist” the achievement is its own reward, but there are practical spin-offs; TAG-Heuer has essentially re-invented the mechanism that’s been at the very core of mechanical watches for over 300 years. Read More

Lista Office has been awarded a prestigious Red Dot design award for its Mindport interior furnishing system. Designed to counteract the tedium and tyranny of the typical open-plan office cubicle system these colorful "pods" come in a range of designs for different office functions - providing an antidote to the massed ranks of identical work-stations. Lista Office also picked up an award for its “LO One” cabinet system. Read More

The stuffing of a very large engine into the front of a compact car body has always been a recipe for automotive desirability. If the chassis can actually handle the power and weight while maintaining stability and poise then motoring nirvana beckons. Add the option of a stowable roof to allow sunbathing, sightseeing, and posing in equal measure and you surely have a winner. The only question that remains is why it took Aston Martin so long to launch this obvious extension to the range. Read More

There's some confusion as to whether the new Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT (to give it its full title) is a replacement or an addition to the SLS stable. The official line is that it is a faster and more focused additional model but it seems likely that the standard SLS will quietly disappear. It make less and less sense in the face of the monstrous SL 63 and 65s now available. The SLS GT, however, makes perfect sense - it fixes the niggle that every single reviewer has complained about since day one. Gearbox, gearbox, gearbox. Read More

The Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como in Italy is a most beautiful and exclusive place. Each year it hosts the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este to celebrate the skills and craftsmanship of the motor industry’s best "carrozzeria" - coachbuilders in English - and a mouth-watering display of classic handmade motor cars is the result. BMW regularly sponsors the event and shows off a vintage car from its collection. This year, however, they pulled off something completely unexpected, a spectacular brand new, one-off, handmade vehicle made in collaboration with Milan’s Zagato workshop. Read More

Mercedes Benz has been trying to retire the agricultural 33-year old G-Wagen for years, but people keep buying the damn thing. Its replacement was supposed to be the GL series, a large and luxurious 7-seater seemingly tailor-made for an American extended family and the open freeway. Unfortunately it is an expensive and somewhat uninspiring vehicle with none of the style of its equally gargantuan German rival the Audi Q7. However its smaller brother the GL is a chunky and almost cute synthesis of the all-terrain vehicle paradigm and the current Mercedes-Benz style guide, especially after its 2013 model year refit. Read More

BASELWORLD, held in Basel Switzerland, is an annual watchmakers and jewelers exhibition where over 100,000 buyers from all over the world descend to check out the coming year's new product. Literally hundreds of new watches are launched at the fair from dozens of manufacturers including big-hitters Rolex, Hublot, Breitling, Patek Phillipe, Tissot and Glashutte. We've assembled a gallery of the most notable releases in 2012, which includes the most innovative, most beautiful, most expensive and most ugly ... and the last two categories are embodied by the same watch! Read More

Mercedes-Benz has never been shy of the absurd (R-class anyone?) and the Affalterbach works – home of the AMG division – must be a regular giggle-fest. The company is quite happy to indulge the hooligan in its well-heeled clients without a hint of embarrassment. It’s not exactly thinking outside the box, more taking a box and sticking an absurdly massive engine in it. The box in question this time is the decades-old, ex-military transport Geländewagen or G-class. Delicious. Read More

Audi makes well-engineered conservatively-designed vehicles. It is seen as the German luxury make for those who don’t want the overt aggression of BMW or the extravagance of Mercedes-Benz. The cars suit a great many people down to the ground and the “soft-roader” Q5 and lately the compact Q3 have been very successful. They are not cars for driving enthusiasts however - the Q3 was recently called “unremittingly dull” in a well respected UK auto magazine (Evo) and every now and then Audi feels the need to prove that it has a wilder side. For the upcoming Beijing Motor Show it was the Q3’s turn for some conceptual wildness. Read More

BMW’s 6 Series has always been its “golf club’ car. A louche boulevardier aiming to impress more than a 3 Series but still with pretensions to sportiness. The range lost its way during the Chris Bangle design era, turning into a large and ugly beast that offended one’s eye and social sensibilities equally. The latest 6 is a much improved creature and BMW clearly had faith enough to unleash a new M variant after a couple of year’s hiatus. As you can see from the pictures, BMW has gone all-in on the aggressive styling. Has the M6 gone hardcore? Read More